Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2012 15:42:38 -0700 From: Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org> To: freebsd-ports@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD Port: bash-4.2.28 Message-ID: <5015BC5E.10501@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <20120729074644.59db2447@scorpio> References: <000601cd6a76$af1de6b0$0d59b410$@quicknet.nl> <50103781.8060904@FreeBSD.org> <20120725183432.4e73b434@scorpio> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1207281639520.97526@bcgv.qbhto.arg> <20120729074644.59db2447@scorpio>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Umm ... wow. I'll try to respond substantively below.
On 07/29/2012 04:46, Jerry wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:54:40 -0700 (PDT)
> Doug Barton articulated:
>
>> Completely aside from my being thoroughly impressed with your
>> mind-reading abilities, upgrading to the latest/greatest is not
>> always the best strategy. Speaking generally, even things that are
>> (nominally) strictly bug fixes can bring in new problems, and Bash
>> patches are not always strictly bug fixes.
>
> First of all, I see you CC'd me "AGAIN". Obviously your comprehension
> skills are rather lax since I have a clearly noted request NOT to be
> CC'd and have in the past specifically asked you not to do so.
I made a point of cc'ing you on my last message because I wanted to make
sure you saw the bit about not using foul language. I appreciate you
respecting that.
Meanwhile, yes, you've expressed a preference not to be cc'ed on list
mail previously. Rather than trying to rehash the whole discussion, I'll
simply repeat the main 2 points:
1. Asking the entire Internet to conform to your whim is not a rational
strategy.
2. The FreeBSD mailman implementation allows you to specify only
receiving 1 copy of a message that you are cc'ed on.
> I took
> the time to relay your CC'd message to SpamCop. I know it won't do any
> good, but it is a feel good thing.
Knock yourself out. :)
> Strictly speaking, it is none of your business if bug fixes can bring
> in or expose new or undiscovered problems.
You keep repeating this "none of your business" line as if for some
reason I don't have the right to ask the question. This is an open
project, we can all ask questions.
> It has been shown throughout
> history that any advancement can bring with it, its own new set of
> problems. Should we all abandon the use of electricity because there is
> a real possibility that someone man get electrified.
Yeah, that's just silly. Before we upgrade something it's useful to ask
the question of whether or not the upgrade is qualitatively "better" or
not. Just because something comes down from upstream doesn't mean it's
an improvement from our users' perspective.
> By the way, do you use bash? if not then what is your
> problem? If you do, have you read what the patches actually entail? I
> have.
I already mentioned that I did review the patches.
>> There is also the issue that in FreeBSD we are generally more
>> conservative about upgrading something from a known-stable version.
>
> That is a lot about nothing. Postfix is updated in virtual real time.
> For every port that you can list that is left effectively abandoned for
> extended periods of time, I can produce one that is updated in a timely
> fashion.
... all of which would be totally irrelevant. Maintainers are
responsible for deciding whether to update, and is so, when. They are
also responsible for making sure that the new version is actually an
improvement. For some ports/maintainers these are easy decisions. For
others they may take time, and/or the maintainer themselves may have to
prioritize the update amongst many other projects.
Getting information from the users as to why a particular update may
have a higher priority than is obvious at first glance is very valuable
to the maintainer.
OTOH it does occasionally happen that maintainers don't have time to
handle the port in a timely manner, and need to be replaced. In that
case, the information about maintainers ignoring important updates is
also useful to the community.
I'm deleting your whole ad hominem attack because there wasn't anything
substantive in there to respond to.
Good luck,
Doug
--
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do
something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what
I can do.
-- Edward Everett Hale, (1822 - 1909)
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?5015BC5E.10501>